Depleted Maryland unable to keep up

Nov. 10, 2012

Written by

Michael Burns

CLEMSON — Maryland coach Randy Edsall knew his decimated Terrapins faced a steep challenge Saturday before they arrived at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, where the No. 13 team in the Bowl Championship Series standings awaited.

With eight potential starters lost to season-ending injuries – including four quarterbacks – they wanted to speed up the game by slowing down the pace, maintaining possession and chewing up the clock.

But they faced a Clemson defense that forced turnovers, and they faced a Clemson offense that didn’t need much time.

The Tigers gained more yards and scored more points in a 45-10 win than Maryland had allowed in any game this season.

“Give Clemson credit,” Edsall said. “That’s an outstanding football team that we played against today – very, very talented on both sides of the ball. You can see why they’re ranked as high as they are. They’ve very deserving of that ranking.”

The Terrapins entered allowing 301.7 yards per game to rate No. 11 in the nation in total defense, and they rated No. 20 in passing defense, allowing 191.6 yards per game. No one burned them like Clemson did, and the Tigers didn’t play many of their starters much of the second half.

“When you take a look at (Tajh) Boyd and (Andre) Ellington, (DeAndre) Hopkins, (Sammy) Watkins, (Brandon) Ford and those guys, they just have a lot of weapons and put a lot of pressure on you,” Edsall said. “I thought we had a good game plan going in. We just didn’t execute it the way we needed to against the talent that they had.”

Turnovers didn’t help Maryland’s cause. Corey Crawford scooped up a fumble by Maryland quarterback Shawn Petty, a converted linebacker, and raced 16 yards for a touchdown 12 seconds after Adam Humphries scored the game’s first touchdown on a leaping grab in the first quarter.

A fumble by Boyd gave the Terrapins possession near midfield, but they gave it back to Clemson two plays later when Malliciah Goodman forced another Petty fumble and recovered the ball. Clemson drove for a 21-0 lead from there, with 14 points coming off of turnovers.

“We knew what we had to get ready for,” said Maryland defensive back Matt Robinson, who recorded a game-high 10 tackles after missing much of the season because of shoulder and groin injuries. “It’s unfortunate that we let a couple of big plays early and just let them get up off our mistakes.”